Established in 2006, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical perspectives and analysis of indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society. Scroll down for links to book reviews, Native media, and more.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Oyate's List of Thanksgiving Books to Avoid

A few years ago, Oyate had a list of books about Thanksgiving that they did not recommend. The list was on their website.

Given the number of books that are published every year about that holiday and the ways that Native peoples continue to be misrepresented in children's books, you would be right to guess that their list is long.

That list is not at their website any longer. In a redesign a few years ago they decided to remove it and their Books to Avoid section. They decided that, although a list might seem efficient, it didn't give people the critical thinking skills they need to develop in order to make decisions on their own. I agree--I'd prefer people develop those skills and apply them their selection/deselection activities.

On the other hand, teachers use lists of good books all the time. Generally speaking, they assume that the person who put that list together has the expertise necessary such that their evaluations can be trusted.

I personally have not read all of these books, but I definitely learned a great deal from Oyate's work. I strongly encourage teachers and librarians to get materials published by Oyate.

My guess is that I'd concur with their decision about each of these books, and I'd also guess that any given book on the list got there because it put forth one or more of what Judy Dow and Beverly Slapin called myths in their Deconstructing the Myths of the First Thanksgiving. If one of these books is on your shelf and you're considering weeding it, I recommend you read it and Dow and Slapin's essay and then make a decision.

I've also shared Oyate's list of recommended books here. And, for more books that accurately portray Native people, see my page of Best Books. (Note: the first sentence of his paragraph was not visible enough. Two people submitted comments asking for recommended books. To help it be more visible, I made it a separate paragraph in bold and added the sentence/link to best books to supplement Oyate's list.)

Dow and Slapin's piece on Thanksgiving myths is also in the outstanding resource A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children (published in 2005), as are many (all?) of the in-depth critical reviews that were on Oyate's page of Books to Avoid. Get A Broken Flute, and Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children (published in 1987 and again in 2006), too. Both are vitally important for all that they contain. (Note: I added this paragraph soon after hitting the upload button on this post, and I added Slapin's name as a co-author. My apologies to her for the initial omission.)

11 comments:

In THANK YOU, SARAH HALE, the protagonist is described as a “superhero,” who was “bold, brave, stubborn and smart” and whose weapon was her pen. So, when people started to ignore Thanksgiving, “well, that just curdled her gravy.” And she organized and campaigned for decades to have Thanksgiving declared a national holiday. Finally, after “38 years, thousands of letters and countless bottles of ink,” President Lincoln, who was embroiled in the US Civil War at the time, declared Thanksgiving a national holiday.

I can see why THANK YOU, SARAH HALE is difficult for some teachers to let go. The writing is idiomatic and appealing, and the illustrations are comical and appealing, too.

Unfortunately, THANK YOU, SARAH HALE is fatally flawed. (1) Sarah Hale campaigned to establish the national commemoration of “The First Thanksgiving,” which glorifies the myths and ignores the truths. So non-Native children who read this book fall into the trap of believing many of the myths we wrote about in our essay, “Deconstructing the Myths of The First Thanksgiving.” And Native children are, once again, embarrassed. (2) The illustrations—including those of Native men, women and children, sitting down with settler men, women and children—both caricature Indian people and extend the myth. So, while non-Native children (who have been taught to see white people as the “norm” and Indian people as “other”) are not negatively affected by the cartoonish images of white people here, Native children are, once again, embarrassed.

The only use I can see for THANK YOU, SARAH HALE is as an example of how the myths of “The First Thanksgiving” and Manifest Destiny are perpetuated.

(3) And, for further research, here’s a list of primary source material from a colonialist perspective:

William Bradford, OF PLIMOTH PLANTATION, 1620-1647 (originally published in 1856 under the title, HISTORY OF PLIMOTH PLANTATION. Random House, 1981

William Bradford and Edward Winslow, A RELATION OR JOURNAL OF THE BEGINNING AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENGLISH PLANTATION SETTLED AT PLIMOTH IN NEW ENGLAND (also called MOURT’S RELATION: A JOURNAL OF THE PILGRMS AT PLIMOTH), first published in 1622. Applewood Books, 1963

Edward Winslow, GOOD NEWES FROM NEW ENGLAND: A TRUE RELATION OF THINGS VERY REMARKABLE AT THE PLANTATION OF PLIMOTH IN NEW ENGLAND, first published in 1624. Applewood Books, n.d.

Debbie, thank you. I'm also curious as to the reasons for Squanto's Journey being on the list, since it was written by an American Indian author. I just read it recently and I did notice he seemed to take a very optimistic tone that might not feel authentic... but are there other inaccuracies?

I'm curious to see that some of the books on the list are sold by Plimoth Plantation, on their website. How can that be? I thought that Plimoth Plantation would be about accurate education about Native history?

Also, Tapenum’s Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times...I'd like to know the issues with this book...it looks like, from the info I see in the samples on Amazon, that it was written in conjunction with the Wampanoag Indian Program at Plimoth Plantation.

Is the Plimoth Plantation a problem in their education about Native history? I would think they would be a good place to go for this. Though, admittedly, the books they include in their online store surprised me.

I notice that most of the recommended books are for grades 4 and up. I am a librarian who works primarily with preschoolers, and unfortunately nearly all my library's picture books on Thanksgiving are on the "books to avoid" list. Are there any recommended books for the preschool age?

For very young kids, I'd stay away from historical contexts and focus on Native people of the present. There's a terrific lesson plan book called LESSONS FROM TURTLE ISLAND for early childhood classrooms. I think you'll find it helpful.

American Indian? Or, Native American? There is no agreement among Native peoples. Both are used. It is best to be specific. Example: Instead of "Debbie Reese, a Native American," say "Debbie Reese, a Nambe Pueblo Indian woman."